Performance Off The Field
by Kara Green
Summary: When Keira puts forward the idea for the most loved football stars in the Galaxy to perform various plays for the League, it's met with mixed reactions; especially when certain rivals are chosen at random to act out one of the best known love stories of all time.
1. Chapter 1

**This little piece of work came together when I was watching 'The Ember Island Players' from Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Aang. **

**Just a little mini-series that I originally started writing for my cousin, since she wanted it up here, I put it on. I figured there wasn't much to lose, eh? **

**I'm not all that fond of it myself, but she was adamant on having it uploaded.**

* * *

Aarch watched as his players took a seat in the briefing room. The nine young athletes were rather confused at this sudden meeting given that the GFC had been finished for a while now.

'Uncle Aarch, what's all of this about?'

The silver-haired coach looked at his nephew and sighed; this was his mother's fault. His sister-in-law had found out about the League's suggestion box and took full advantage. He pulled out a piece of paper and began to speak.

'Now, I'm sure you all realize that, since the cup is finished for another little while, we've got a bit of free time on our hands,' he watched as the team nodded understandably, 'well, the League sent me an email this morning, and… well.'

'Yes, coach?' Tia asked eagerly.

'How can I put this?' he asked himself, after a few moments, he decided just to come out with it, 'we're joining with the other teams to put on a show for the League!' he tried enthusiastically.

The players were silent, each of them were exchanging unsure looks. Aarch knew they wouldn't be happy about this, especially if their reaction to Keira's one-woman show last year was anything to go by.

'What _kind _of show?' D'Jok asked sceptically.

'Well, actually, it's a variety of small shows pushed in to one evening.'

'Do we get to choose what show we do?' Yuki piped up.

'Erm, no,' he scratched the back of his head as he held up the sheet of paper, 'I have your performances and parts here, they were picked from a hat at random, keep that in mind. We don't hate you,' he said sternly as he looked at the list, he knew most; if not all of his protégés would have something pessimistic to say about their roles.

'I'm just going to read out your roles, you'll find out who else is in your group later. Okay, group one; Romeo and Juliet,' he began as he picked the names that belonged to the Snowkids out of the list, 'Micro-Ice, you're playing the part of the nurse, and D'Jok, you'll be playing… Juliet.'

The Snowkids, bar D'Jok and Micro-Ice, erupted in to loud snorts and laughter.

'Can't we change to more masculine roles?' the youngest player pleaded.

'I'm sorry, Micro-Ice, the roles aren't alterable.'

'But, if I'm Juliet, who's Romeo?'

Aarch looked at the dreaded piece of paper and winced, the universe obviously hated them, 'Sinedd.'

'**What?'**

The cackling only got louder as D'Jok became more and more frustrated, adamant on not having to declare his love for his rival on stage. Aarch was having none of it, he was going to do this play whether he liked it or not.

'Okay, group two; The Lion King.'

'How are you supposed to act out The Lion King?' Mark questioned.

'Well, you'd better figure that out, Mark. You're Rafiki.'

'I'm a monkey?' the afro-headed boy exclaimed in horror.

'Come on, Mark. You don't have to die in Sinedd's arms after proclaiming your love for him,' the redhead pouted.

Aarch ignored the conversation going on in front of him, 'Group three will be performing Cinderella,' he looked at the page and breathed a sigh of relief; at least these roles were somewhat reasonable, 'Rocket, the Prince and Yuki, the Fairy God Mother.'

Tia shot Rocket a playful wink; she would kill to see him in a prince's outfit, and now her dream was coming true. Rocket anticipated this and shot the white-haired midfielder a nervous grin.

'On to group four; Rapunzel. Mei, you'll be playing… Rapunzel.'

'That was scarily accurate,' Thran thought out loud.

'Are you sure these were picked at random?' Mei questioned.

'They had to be,' D'Jok scoffed, 'I mean, if these roles were picked on purpose, I'd be Romeo... and **not** kissing Sinedd!'

'And me, a nurse?' Micro-Ice grumbled, 'I mean, come on! Dame Simbai won't even let me help in the infirmary.'

Aarch looked over at Simbai and Clamp; they had been standing in the doorway watching the scene unfold. The woman shook her head furiously when Micro-Ice spoke.

'Moving on,' Aarch quickly shouted before anyone else could speak, he saw that there was another Snowkid in group four, 'Tia, you'll be the rabbit.'

'Sir, I don't think there **is** a rabbit in Rapunzel,' she objected.

Normally, Aarch would acknowledge this, but he wanted to get this over and done with ASAP. To his relief, he noticed that there was only one group remaining, and the twins weren't known to argue with him.

'And the final group is performing the Wizard of Oz. Thran, you'll be playing the Munchkin Mayor and Ahito, you'll be the Wicked Witch of the West.'

'But, that role was **made** for Micro-Ice,' Thran protested; he pretended not to see the look on the youngest player's face. He wasn't amused.

'How am I supposed to perform with Narcolepsy?' Ahito wondered out loud. Before he could get an answer, he drifted off to sleep; this only enforced his point.

'I am **not** kissing Sinedd!'

'This sucks!'

'I thought you said you **didn't **hate us!'

Aarch sighed as the adolescents continued their attack on his sanity. Slowly, he sulkily tread through the bickering match, past his training staff and through the door of the briefing room without a second glance. The middle-aged man dragged himself to his office and grumpily fell on to the chair; expecting to hear furious banging on his door soon enough, he may as well try to relax for a little bit.

Keira was going to pay dearly for this.


	2. Chapter 2

'If you he be…be him… he? What language is this in?' Micro-Ice questioned, 'it doesn't make any sense!'

'Of course it makes sense, it's Shakespeare,' Warren said exasperated.

The Lightning's captain couldn't imagine a worse group. Between Micro-Ice not being able to understand his lines, D'Jok and Sinedd turning the love scenes in to a bickering match, Akkamukk making a joke of it all and Kernor giving off to Woo-Wam-Boo because he was _too nice to be Tybalt_, it didn't seem worth the effort.

'I just don't see why he 'as to be so aggressive, ya know?' the Wamba complained as he pointed to his script.

'He's aggressive because that's how it was written, got it?' the Ryker's star goalkeeper hit back.

'I'm just sayin' dat der's no need to kill Mercutio, I've neva' known a love story to 'ave so much violence!'

'Just learn your lines,' she growled before turning her attention back to her own script.

'No, no! You're preparing to be married by Friar Lawrence, not getting ready to brawl in a steel cage,' the blue alien cried as he pulled D'Jok away from the sinister staring match.

'Allow me to drive thy fist down my star-crossed lover's throat or I shall not be merciful,' the Shadow's star striker scowled at Warren.

'Nay, not before I plant thy foot in my fair Romeo's behind!' D'Jok retaliated as he tried to struggle from his hero's grasp.

The youngest Snowkid looked up at the scene unfolding in front of him, the poor boy looked horrified.

'What are you saying?' he cried.

Warren turned to the small striker on the ground who looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Who's bright idea was it to let Micro-Ice near a play written in Shakespearean Language? This play was as good as butchered.

* * *

'De king has returned,' Mark said in his best Rafiki accent whilst bowing to Alca 1 from Team Paradisia, who was playing Nala.

'Is dat a crack at my accent?' the Wambisian who was playing Mufasa called from the ceiling lamp he was perched on.

'Mufasa, you're supposed to be dead!' Luur bellowed from the corner he was standing in, 'I threw you in to the stampede, remember?'

'I don't care, I can't listen to dis insult on my people much longa!'

'Sorry, I'll try to use a different accent,' Mark tried, switching back to his normal voice.

'Yes! Dat's perfect, use dat one!'

The Snowkid sighed as the rest of his group agreed with the Wamba. Apparently his accent was perfect for, what he could only presume, was a mentally unstable monkey; he could only hope that his other teammates were having a better time than him.

* * *

Rocket scrutinized his script carefully; if he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. He looked up for a brief moment to see Fulmugus pretending to scrub the floor, all the while crying about not being able to go to the ball. The dread-locked teenager had to give him credit; the Shadow was really getting in to it. Right on cue, Yuki appeared beside _Cinderella._

'My dear, you shall go to the ball!' she expressed nervously while pretending to wave a magic wand around.

Rocket knew that the ginger girl wasn't the most confident among the team, which was why he was surprised that, out of all people, she was dating the over-the-top striker that was Micro-Ice. He shrugged and continued to look over his lines.

He couldn't help thinking how ridiculous this prince was; deciding who he was going to marry by having every girl under his rule put their feet in an unstable glass shoe? Why did Tia like this stuff?

* * *

'Stevens, you have to talk!' Nihlis exclaimed, 'how do you expect Rapunzel to fall in love with you if you don't talk?'

The Pirate in question simply shrugged, causing the Shadow to tear her script in two in frustration.

'Mei, this script makes no sense,' the white haired mid-fielder complained, 'I mean, why would the main character be best friends with a rabbit?'

'I don't know, Tia,' the model sighed as she applied another coat of lip gloss to her plump lips, 'just roll with it, 'kay?'

'Easy for you to say, you're not a talking woodland creature who doesn't even exist in the fairytale.'

'Are you still going on about that, Tia?'

'It's just stupid, Mei!'

'How so?'

'Look at this line,' she said, pointing to the text in question.

_Rapunzel, the otters just told me about a prince who fell for your perfect face! Love at first sight, I believe they heard him say!_

The defender shot her best friend a disbelieving look, 'that is pretty bad.'

'Tell me about it, I'm pretty sure these League members aren't five years old,' she moaned.

* * *

Thran sighed; they weren't having a good run. Everything would go smoothly until it came to Ahito's first line. The goalkeeper would jump on to the stage cackling with the appearance of an enthusiastic teenager, but he would always fall asleep while confronting Lun-Zeara about the death of the Wicked Witch of the East.

'Ahito, wake up,' the Wamba's striker said as she gently shook his shoulders.

'Come on, Snowball!' Shekmut demanded as she emerged from her corner, 'we haven't even got to my part yet!'

'Ah, Shekmut, relax. De show isn't for anotha' few weeks!' the Wamba's goalkeeper, Boonzof calmly said, coming to the defence of his fellow goal keeper.

'Oh, the poor thing's worn out,' Lun-Zeara swooned, like the other girls; Zyria and Alisa 3.

Thran shook his head; any time he fell asleep in the company of females, he always ended up gaining more fan girls, no matter how annoying the situation was. The defender didn't know why he, the lovable geek of the team, didn't have more fan girls. Or, as Micro-Ice called them,_ Thran girls_.

'I don't know how you do it, little brother.'

* * *

Aarch looked at Artegor's phone, he had just received a text from Sinedd.

_Artegor, I swear, if you don't get me out of this **right now**, I will suffocate you with your own Smog!_

'The session's going well then?'

'Apparently so,' Artegor replied as he took another sip of his tea.

The silver haired coach looked at his own phone, he had one message.

'Oh, the fair Juliet has just texted me.'

'What does it say?'

'I hate you, Aarch,' he replied non-nonchalantly.

'Isn't she just a sweetheart?' the black haired coach replied in the same tone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Not really much going on in this chapter, but I was a little stuck for ideas when I started this. Hope you enjoy it anyway :)**

* * *

Aarch solemnly entered the briefing room clutching a cardboard box. After he had dropped it on the floor, he looked up to see nine angry pairs of eyes staring at him from the baby blue sofas.

'Okay, I know how you must feel.'

'Oh, you **do**?' D'Jok expressed angrily.

'Look kids,' the large man sighed as he stood up straight, 'this wasn't my idea.'

'You could have said no!' Mark interjected.

'I tried my best.'

'Well, your best wasn't good enough,' the redhead striker scowled.

'I'm sorry,' he tried with genuine sorrow in his voice, 'but, let me get on to the purpose of this sudden briefing.'

With that, he knelt down and ripped the box open.

'What's in the box?' Rocket asked curiously.

'Your costumes,' he replied, ignoring the irritated groans from his players. When he saw what they would be performing in, he grimaced.

'Okay,' he gulped before reading the tag on the first costume and holding it out to its owner, 'Thran.'

The Asian boy took the ensemble with a horrified expression; he hated everything about it, from the top hat decorated with the colourful lollypop right down to the stripy green and red tights.

'You know, this is really more suitable for Christmas,' he groaned, trying to get rid of the thing.

Aarch ignored his comment and lifted out the next costume, 'Tia.'

The young girl looked at it in horror; the costume was as white as her hair, not to mention it was made from the same material you would expect to be found on a teddy bear. Reluctantly, she took it.

'Ahito.'

The goalkeeper took the costume without awaking from his slumber and threw the witch Halloween costume on to the floor in front of him.

'Rocket.'

Taking the horrendous outfit in his grasp, he looked over at Tia; she was eyeing up the blue tights, already picturing him in the glamorized jester costume.

'Mark.'

The substitute wrinkled his nose in disgust, refusing to take it, 'what do these people think I am?'

'You are a baboon, and I am not,' Micro-Ice quoted, enjoying the fact that he hadn't been cursed with his costume yet.

Mark shot his small teammate a look of death before Aarch threw the colourful costume at the agitated athlete.

'Mei.'

The defender's eyes lit up when she saw the pink gown. She quickly seized the dress with a large smile; it wasn't like one of those ridiculous puffy fairytale dresses, but a sleek halter dress. Her blue eyes looked around her to see the confused Snowkids looking at her with expressions that just screamed _you had better not be enjoying this_. She quickly placed the dress over her knee and calmed herself.

'Yuki.'

She had to admit, it wasn't as bad as some of the other costumes, but it was a little bit too feminine for her taste.

'Coach, it looks like they bought it from the costume section in Akillian Market,' the short-haired girl cringed as she set the fairy costume on the ground.

'That's because it is,' the coach replied, catching the confused expressions on their faces, 'budget cuts.'

He shuddered at the sight of the last two costumes lying at the bottom.

'Okay, Micro-Ice.'

The youngest player's jaw hit the floor, Aarch had just handed him a huge dress and a head dress that could have been used to cover Aarch Academy when it snowed.

'You're screwing with me.'

Forgetting all about their own tragic costumes, the remainder of the team couldn't take it anymore and erupted in to uncontainable laughter.

'How is this funny?' the shortest teenager demanded.

'Oh, Micro-Ice,' Yuki laughed as she shook her head.

The laughter abruptly ceased as Aarch pulled out D'Jok's costume; a floor-length dress as red as his hair.

'… No,' the striker said as he angrily discarded the garment behind the sofa, 'no, no, no!'

'D'Jok, don't start,' Aarch wearily said, 'it's not that bad.'

'Not that bad? I'm playing a 13 year old girl who has been raised by a nurse who doesn't understand a word that comes out of their mouth and marries Sinedd, a relationship which eventually leads to six deaths including my own. How is it _not that bad_?'

Before he could answer, Dame Simbai sauntered in with a smaller box.

'This is addressed to you, Aarch,' she said in her broad accent, handing the box to him before quickly leaving the dreadful scene.

He swiftly opened the box, trying to block out D'Jok's furious rant. The man pulled out a script for _101 Dalmatians_, along with a rather large spotty dog costume. Confused, he looked up at his team; their expressions were slightly frightening.

'Does anyone know what's going on?'

'Well, we didn't think it was fair that we were having _all _of the fun,' Tia smirked.

'So we put in our own little idea in to the League's suggestion box,' the youngest continued in the same tone of voice.

'And they _loved _it,' D'Jok bragged.

Before Aarch could say another word, Artegor stormed through the door.

'**Aarch!'**

'Artegor, what's wrong?'

'Can you explain to me what _this _is all about?'

Aarch's blue eyes examined the fur coat his friend was waving in his face; he knew he had seen that coat somewhere before.

'Cruella Devil? **Cruella Devil**?'

The larger man turned to face his smug looking players, 'alright, which one of you masterminds lead the rebellion? Hm?'

Silence.

'Was it you, Rocket?'

'No, Uncle Aarch.'

'Well, of course it wasn't you, it was quite obviously you!' Artegor bellowed as he pointed an accusing finger at the redhead struggling to hold in his laughter.

'Nope.'

'What about the little picture of innocence over here, eh, Tia? Or what about you, Micro-Ice, you're quite the practical joker!'

They rapidly shook their heads, slightly scared of the furious man.

'Yeah right, like any of these losers could come up with such a brilliant idea.'

All eyes were on the door to the briefing room; a rather conceited looking Sinedd stood watching the scene unfold before him.

'Sinedd, what have you done?' the black-haired coach asked angrily through gritted teeth.

The teenage boy laughed as Norata, Clamp and Simbai barged in to the room confronting Aarch about their own costumes. The poor man was at a loss at how to tackle this as the bickering escalated. Before long, everyone in the room was at each other's throats, arguing over their costumes and roles.


	4. Chapter 4

**Realised after the last chapter went out that I spelled 'De Vil' wrong, heh heh, woops ^^'**

**Well, it's fixed in this chapter, hopefully I won't screw it up again, enjoy the reading :)**

* * *

The adults were not best pleased; they had been betrayed by their own teams and forced to perform as spotty dogs in front of their superiors in the League. It was the day of dress rehearsals for the groups, and with only a week left until opening night; tensions were running high within the performers.

* * *

Artegor moodily leaned against a wall waiting for his group to emerge in their costumes. Apparently, all he needed was the furry coat and he was good to go; the coach wasn't sure whether to feel insulted by this or not. Within minutes, Aarch sullenly emerged from the dressing room clad in a black and white spotted dog costume with black spots painted on his face finishing off the ensemble. The spiky haired coach looked him up and down, formulating a witty comment in his mind.

_Oh, so much to mock._

'I hope you're house-broken.'

'Very funny, Cruella.'

'That's Miss De Vil to you, spotty.'

'It's Patch, actually.'

At that moment, Dame Simbai emerged in a similar costume, complete with a blue choker with a medallion engraved with the name _Perdy_.

'Hey, Mom,' Aarch said wearily, 'where's Dad?'

'If you're referring to Norata, he's just putting on his make-up,' the medic responded dryly.

'Is that so my Dalmatian coat will be even more magnificent?'

'Artegor,' the white haired coach sighed, 'Cruella doesn't get to make the coat, she gets caught, remember?'

'Cruella didn't have the Smog,' he replied with pride in his voice, 'I'll skin you alive, Aarch. Just you wait until we get on that stage!'

'Very in character, Artegor,' Keira applauded as she skipped towards them, 'It's wonderful how you're getting in to this so soon!'

'Keira, what are you doing here?' the largest dog questioned as he hid the mittens with the paw prints behind his back.

'I'm just going to watch Rocket's dress rehearsal. Do you know where Norata is?' the aging woman questioned as she looked around her.

'He's just putting his face on. Why?'

'He left his lunch at home,' she replied, pulling out a lunch box with an image of various flowers on it and handing it to her brother-in-law.

'I'll give this to him, Keira,' he sighed as he heard Artegor sniggering behind him.

'Well, I'll be off then. I'm looking forward to your production,' she smiled, happily continuing on her way.

'Is she gone?'

The white haired coach turned to see his brother suspiciously peeking out of the dressing room door.

'Yes, Pongo. She's gone.'

* * *

'Come on D'Jok, it's not that bad.'

'Warren, look at me. I'm in a dress,' the redhead sighed sadly as he tried to gather as much of the garment up off the ground as he could, revealing his muscular legs.

Micro-Ice emerged from the dressing room in an even larger dress, kicking his legs up as high as they could go just to be able to walk.

'D'Jok, I feel like a big bell.'

'The petticoat was optional for the dress rehearsal, Micro-Ice.'

'That's the problem, D'Jok. I'm not even wearing the petticoat.'

'It's just a little big because of your size, plus I don't think it does much for your figure.'

'I don't know, maybe I'm just putting on a little weight, you know, with the parties and lack of training lately?'

'Oh, don't be ridiculous, there's nothing wrong with your figure.'

'I could say the same about you, that dress really compliments your curves.'

'Oh, you're too... What's happening to us?'

'I don't know, D'Jok,' he replied on the verge of tears, 'but I feel so feminine it's scaring me, I'm actually starting to feel elegant in this thing.'

'Hang in there, Micro-Ice, the nightmare's nearly over.'

Sinedd moodily shuffled to his three fellow performers in your typical Robin Hood-type Prince costume. When he saw his foes in their dresses, he erupted in to uncontrollable laughter, the outburst was so violent that he had to grab on to a near-by chair to avoid collapsing on to the floor.

'Shut up, Sinedd,' D'Jok scowled, 'your costume isn't the most masculine either.'

'I-I just c-an't stop!'

The youngest striker grabbed D'Jok's wrist and pulled him in the opposite direction.

'Come on, D'Jok, we don't need the village idiot,' and with that, he threw his head back and stormed towards the rest of the group with a majority of the fabric in his arms.

* * *

Mei was spinning around in her brand new dress loving every second of feeling like a princess. She failed to notice Tia trail herself moodily beside her.

'Mei.'

The defender looked around to see Tia's angry expression, although with the pink nose and large teeth painted on her face, it was hard to take her seriously.

'I look like a sock puppet.'

'No, you look sooo cute!'

'Rabbits can bite, you know,' she pouted before taking a large bite out of her carrot.

'What are you doing?' the brunette asked with a raised eyebrow.

'Getting in to character, what does it look like?' she replied before taking another munch of her carrot.

* * *

'Come on, Thran! I'm sorry I laughed!'

'No, I'm not coming out.'

'Pleeaaaseee?'

'No.'

'But we need you, Thran!'

'I don't care.'

'If you don't come out here right now, I'll send Shekmut in to get you.'

'Ahito, don't you dare.'

'Just come out, Thran!'

The younger twin smiled when he heard footsteps edging closer to the bathroom door, eventually, the door slowly opened to reveal Thran in a ridiculous elf-like costume. Ahito had to struggle to hold in his laugh.

'You're laughing,' his older brother frowned.

'No, I'm just thinking about how great you look.'

'You're a really bad liar, little brother.'

'It could be worse,' he stated as he casually tilted his witch hat, 'you could be wearing a petticoat.'

Thran laughed lightly before shutting the bathroom door behind him. The defender noticed that Ahito was ready to nod off again, so quickly pulled him on to his back, though the witch's robe made it a little difficult.

* * *

Mark was having his own problems concerning the costume he had been_ blessed_ with; he was convinced that Micro-Ice had covered it in itching powder at some point. He had been holding up a baby Simba plush from the top of their fake rock when the first itching attack occurred, causing him to drop the plush on to the ground two feet below. Luur had been furious, his fake black mane danced as he scolded the itchy monkey; this was his time to shine, and that unusual human was not going to destroy it.

* * *

Rocket was in the process of tying his hair up when Keira sauntered in to the dressing room.

'Oh, Rocket, you look so handsome!'

'Err, thanks,' he replied, not entirely enthusiastic about the clothing choice himself.

'I only wish you could wear this every day,' she continued as her eyes started to water.

_Oh, here we go._

'Rocket, Sarlight wanted to know-' the ginger goalkeeper stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Keira turn on the waterworks.

'Yuki, this is my mother,' the midfielder sighed as he put the comb down.

'Rocket, you made your mother cry?'

'She always cries.'

Yuki looked at the woman pull a tissue from her sleeve and wipe her golden eyes gently. She made her way over to her fellow teammate, the light pink, cheap material of her dress flowing behind her as she walked.

'Sarlight wanted to know if you could help him put his tail on.'

'Oh, alright, no problem Yuki,' he quickly said as made his way to the door, 'could you keep my mother company? I'll be right back.'

Before she could argue, he was gone. How was she supposed to talk to an over-emotional woman with nothing in common with her at all? In the end, she decided just to sit quietly and fiddle with her magic wand, all the while watching Keira sob quietly about how grown up her son was.


	5. Chapter 5

'Ladies and gentlemen of the League, allow me to welcome you to an evening of drama, comedy and music.'

The pompous man waited for the applause to die down before he continued.

'We are going to commence the evening with _101 Dalmatians, _performed by the coaches and technical staff of our favourite teams. So without further ado, allow me to welcome the cast to the stage.'

When the clapping died down, Norata crawled on to the stage in his spotty dog costume with the Wamba's coach following closely behind and taking his place at the piano at the left side of the stage.

'After 5 already?'

'Woof!'

* * *

'So, are you ready to be made in to a fur coat?' Artegor asked Aarch as he watched Norata chase Dame Simbai around the stage on all fours.

'I'm not born yet, Cruella, I can't hear you,' the large puppy replied as he covered his ears.

The Shadows' coach growled before adjusting the fluffy collar of his coat. He didn't care how ridiculous this whole thing was, he was going to out-perform Aarch. The villain was always the highlight of these things, that white-haired show-off was playing a mere dog; he could take him.

'_That's it! Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil!'_

'Ah, that's my cue,' Artegor smirked at Aarch, 'let's see you top this!'

* * *

'Let her in, Nanny.'

Artegor burst on to the stage in the most dramatic way he could manage, making sure the audience got the best possible view as he continued to treat the stage like a catwalk, strutting his stuff in a fashion that would put Mei to shame.

'Anita, darling!'

'How are you?'

'Miserable as usual, perfectly wretched!'

* * *

Aarch peeked out of the curtain to see that the audience was amazed at Artegor's acting; the Smog-infected man was stealing the show. Aarch wouldn't stand for this. It shouldn't be too hard to make the audience like him; after all, everyone loved puppies, even if they were large coaches in a degrading costume.

'What's wrong, Aarch?' Clamp questioned as he approached the moody pooch.

'Artegor's trying to beat me again.'

'It's not like this is the GFC, why does it matter?'

'This isn't about the cup; this is about beating Artegor with my dignity intact.'

The older man looked his friend up and down. If he was going for beating Artegor with his dignity intact; this wasn't the time or place, especially with that costume.

* * *

'Artegor's really good, D'Jok,' Micro-Ice said to his big brother figure as they watched the scene on the screen in the mixed dressing room, 'I don't think we can measure up to him.'

'Of course we will Micro-Ice. Everyone knows Romeo and Juliet beats _101 Dalmatians_.'

'He's taking it really seriously,' Tia butted in as she munched on her carrot.

'Tia, didn't you just have a carrot?' the smallest striker questioned as Mei tightened his corset, causing him to yelp.

'I've grown fond of them in the past few weeks,' she shrugged, taking another bite.

'We're losing you, Tia,' the oldest twin sighed.

'Mei, I can't breathe!'

'Grow up, Micro-Ice, fashion is pain,' she replied, placing her foot on the boy's back and pulling the corset even tighter, making him wheeze in pain.

'My lungs!'

D'Jok watched his girlfriend destroy his best friend's internal organs before turning his attention back to the play.

* * *

It was Aarch's turn to emerge on to the stage, he and the other puppies took a deep breath and crawled on to the stage, the coach was going to beat Artegor at all costs, even if he had to act like an enthusiastic young dog. He began to jump around the stage while still on his hands and knees, fluttering his eyelashes and smiling for the crowd in front of him.

* * *

'So that's his game, huh?' the villain said to himself backstage as he narrowed his eyes, 'nice try, Aarch, but you can't out-perform Cruella.'

* * *

'He missed him! Ol' Thunder's pretending!' Aarch bellowed over the hall, determined to be the best thing about their performance.

'… I think,' he gasped, projecting a horrified expression to the audience, confusing his fellow puppies.

The Xenons' coach, who was playing Lucky, shot him a death glare. This was a performance for the League, not a soap opera.

* * *

The Snowkids watched the scene unfold, they had never seen their coach act so dramatically.

'What is **wrong** with that man?' Sinedd wondered out loud.

'Shut up, Sinedd,' the number nine growled. He agreed with his rival, of course, but he wouldn't give him the pleasure of being right, 'you're just jealous about being too angst-ridden to pull off a Dalmatian puppy!'

The Shadow snorted, 'yeah, because I'd love to be crawling around on a dusty stage in a fluffy dog costume, all the while acting as a talking Disney dog who gets kidnapped by Artegor. Please, sign me up.'

The sarcasm was practically unbearable, making D'Jok roll his eyes and return to his girlfriend, who was currently trying to cover Micro-Ice's purple face with make-up, just because you can't breathe doesn't mean you can't look nice.

'How's it going over here?'

'D'Jok, tell your roommate that there is nothing wrong with a little bit of blush!'

He looked at the youngest player shake his head quickly, silently pleading for D'Jok to save him from this nightmare.

'Why do you want to put blush on him, Mei?'

'It'll help define his cheekbones.'

'There's nothing wrong with my cheekbones!'

'If I let you put blush on him, will you keep your make-up kit away from me?'

She nodded before excitedly covering the brush in pink powder. Micro-Ice shot daggers at his best friend, who had started walking away.

'You traitor!'

D'Jok shrugged this comment off, confident that he would be forgiven as easily as Rocket when he returned from Netherball. Come to think of it, where was Rocket? He didn't run off again, did he? No. No, he wouldn't do that. He had one of the most decent roles out of all of his teammates, there was no reason to pull a Rocket and run away. Nevertheless, he had to at least check, or Aarch would somehow find a way to blame him.

'Warren, have you seen Rocket?'

The blue alien turned around to face the captain after tightening the rope around his waist.

'Rocket? No, why?'

'I haven't seen him since this morning,' he sighed as he walked towards Yuki, who was currently enlisting the help of Mark to help with her zip, adding to her boyfriend's annoyance, 'hey, Yuki, can you do me a favour?'

'Thanks, Mark,' she smiled before turning to D'Jok, 'yes?'

'Can you go and check around for Rocket?'

'Why me? Why not Tia?'

'Rapunzel's on next, and you're in his group.'

'That's no reason-'

'Yuki, just go!'

The ginger girl rolled her eyes and made her way around the dressing rooms, hoping that Rocket would be in one of them.

* * *

The play was almost over, and Yuki still hadn't returned, not that the actors on the stage knew of this.

'You idiots! You fools! You imbeciles!' Artegor screeched in his most dramatic tone, falling to his knees and crying in to his red gloves. Before the Lightning's coach, who was playing Jasper, could say his line, Artegor shot up.

**'WHY? WHHHYYYYYY?'** the black haired coach screamed to the sky, '**WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?**'

The blue alien and Clamp exchanged looks, were they supposed to interfere?

**'You've ruined it! You've ruined everything, you idiots!'** he screeched, pointing to the two men sitting on the ground before falling to his knees once again, sobbing harder.

* * *

'Oh, it's on,' Aarch whispered behind the curtain as he saw the three villains exit the stage, Artegor still in tears and cursing Jasper and Horace.

It was now his last scene, and Aarch was going to make it his best yet. With his fellow puppies, he excitedly jumped on to the stage, smiling stupidly and jumping up and down.

'And Perdy, my darling!'

'And Patch, and-'

'Yes, Nanny! It is I! I'm home!' he butt in, not caring that this wasn't in the script, 'my dear family! I've missed you so much!'

With that, he jumped on to the dumbfounded looking Nanny that was the coach of the Rykers.

**'I missed you so much!'** he sobbed.

* * *

'Not nearly as incredible as my performance,' Artegor growled, ignoring the confused looks being exchanged by the remaining actors behind the curtain.

* * *

'I don't remember this in the movie,' Thran mumbled to his twin, who had woken up long enough to see Aarch's little outburst.

'It's called improvisation,' Mei smiled as she finished off Micro-Ice's make-up, 'I think it's great, there's so much emotion!'

'What is** wrong** with you?' Sinedd asked in a confused tone.

* * *

'… I just thank my lucky spots that we are all alive today!'

'Okay, I think that's all from this performance,' the man from earlier smiled as he stood in front of Aarch, who was now on his knees with his head raised up to the sky, 'let's hear it for the cast!'

Artegor practically ran on to the stage to get his bow in before Aarch, proud of his performance as the infamous Cruella De Vil.

* * *

'Well, looks like we need to go round up the others, Tia,' Mei excitedly said before dashing out of the room to meet the rest of their group.

'Woo,' Tia indifferently cheered as she moodily shuffled after her.

Yuki rushed past Tia and in to the shared dressing room out of breath. D'Jok looked around to see the expression on her face, she looked worried.

'Rocket's run away again!'


	6. Chapter 6

'What do you mean he's run away again?' D'Jok asked the ginger haired girl, infuriated that Rocket could be so stupid.

'I think she means that-'

'Shut up, Micro-Ice!' he instructed angrily.

'D'Jok, calm down,' Mark laughed, 'it's not like his absence is going to affect your play.'

'And what happens when Tia comes back, hm, Monkey Boy?' the shortest striker butt in.

'Look, we just have to concentrate on finding him,' Yuki said quickly, keen on not wasting any more time, 'does anyone have any idea where he could be?'

Micro-Ice rubbed his chin, 'Sinedd, give me the key to your hotel room.'

'Hell no.'

'Come on, Sinedd, we all know you're obsessed with him, you've _obviously_ kidnapped him.'

'I've been here the whole time, you loser.'

'So you admit that you _would_ kidnap him,' Micro-Ice replied, standing on his tiptoes so he reached Sinedd's chin, trying to be as intimidating as possible, 'where is he?'

Thran pulled Micro-Ice away and placed him on to a nearby chair.

'We're wasting enough time as it is, Micro-Ice,' the Asian defender said, 'Sinedd hasn't kidnapped him.'

Micro-Ice looked like he was going to say something, but was silenced by a threatening glare from Sinedd.

'How long until Cinderella's on?' D'Jok asked while rubbing his temples.

'Two hours,' Yuki replied.

'Oh perfect,' the captain moaned.

'Remember Snowkids, if you work together as a team, you'll be able to find Rocket!'

They turned to see Warren standing in his monk-like Friar Lawrence costume, visibly ready to give yet another pep talk. Again, Micro-Ice was ready to interrupt before receiving a cold stare from his best friend; no one interrupts Warren.

* * *

Back on stage, the cast of Rapunzel had found a way around their little dilemma with Stevens' refusal to speak. They had managed to convince Aya 9 to play both the roles of Rapunzel's biological mother and a narrator.

'Rapunzel grew in to a girl whose heart was as beautiful as she was. She spent her days combing her long, thick hair.'

Mei lifted a brush and started to brush her hair, smiling to the audience as she did this, pretending it was an important commercial.

'But sometimes, Rapunzel would get lonely,' the Paradisian midfielder continued, waiting for the model to put down her brush and sigh sadly, 'so, the beautiful Rapunzel would befriend the woodland animals surrounding her tower.'

With that, Tia glumly hopped on to the stage, swallowing the final chunk of her carrot before she sullenly delivered her line.

'Oh, the beautiful Rapunzel, what a pleasure it is to be your friend,' all the while thinking: _what imprudent moron wrote this script?_

* * *

Aarch had removed the last of his face paint when Artegor strolled in to the bathroom, still wearing the fluffy coat.

'Aren't you going to take that off?'

'Not at all, I rather like this pelt,' he responded while stroking the soft collar.

Before he could say another word, Aarch was distracted by the sudden opening of the bathroom door; he swiftly turned to come face-to-face with the oldest twin.

'Hey coach,' Thran began before scanning the room, 'is Rocket in here?'

'No, he isn't. Why?'

'No reason,' he smiled before laughing nervously, 'do you know where he could be?'

'Did you check the dressing rooms?'

'Yes, all of them.'

'Thran, tell me this,' Aarch sighed while leaning against the sink, 'has Rocket ran away again?'

'Well, let's say he did. Hypothetically, of course.'

'**Rocket!'** he bellowed before pushing past his defender and out of the bathroom, still clad in his Dalmatian costume.

* * *

'Alright, anyone find him?' D'Jok asked his teammates.

'Not in the dressing rooms,' Yuki stated.

'Or the audience,' added Mark.

Ahito pressed the _end call_ button, 'he's not at the hotel either.'

'That's because he's in Sinedd's hotel room,' the youngest pouted, annoyed that his theory had been discarded almost immediately.

'Get over it, Half Pint; I didn't kidnap your captain.'

'**Hey!** I'm the captain,' D'Jok angrily reminded him.

'That's right, you are the captain,' Aarch furiously interrupted before standing in front of the striker, 'so tell me why you didn't stop Rocket from leaving!'

'But-I-he… Are you kidding me?' he stammered, outraged that he was getting the blame for this.

Sinedd sniggered from the back of the room; the only reason he had stayed was to watch the Snowkids panic over their missing midfielder. So far, the scene hadn't been disappointing. Apparently, Warren hadn't noticed that no one was listening to him as he continued to ramble on about teamwork, not even D'Jok.

* * *

'Rapunzel, let down your hair!'

'Yes mother!' Mei said loudly to Nihlis, who was playing Mother Gothel, before allowing her hair to flow down from their fake tower.

Mei felt the strong tug on her brunette locks, the midfielder's muscles almost pulled her over the edge of the tower's window. Tia had to grab on to her friend to avoid any injuries occurring. When she finally reached the top, Mei smiled sweetly, trying to show the audience that she wasn't hurt, but also that she was in her zone.

'One day, a handsome prince was riding through the forest on his horse. He saw the most beautiful face peeking out of the tower, speaking to a rabbit.'

Stevens got off Jane 5, who was dressed as a white horse, and shrugged at the tower, taking this as her cue, Aya continued to narrate.

'_Love at first sight, I must marry this beautiful girl!_ He said, still gazing at his beloved.'

Stevens simply nodded, causing Mother Gothel to slap her forehead. This was going to be a _long _night.

* * *

'Why won't you give me your room key?'

'I don't want you snooping around my stuff, Half Pint!'

'I'm not going to; I just want to prove that you have Rocket!

'I haven't got Rocket!'

'Then why are you so reluctant to let me look in your room?'

D'Jok and Mark watched the two raven haired boys bicker.

'You have to hand it to them; they're persistent,' D'Jok started.

'You don't think Sinedd actually has kidnapped Rocket, do you?' Mark asked.

'I wouldn't put it past him.'

**'Hey!'**

Everyone turned to see Micro-Ice scamper out of the dressing room with Sinedd's room key, able to run rather quickly due to the fact he hadn't changed yet.

'That little runt stole my key!' Sinedd screamed, ready to bolt after him.

D'Jok and Mark held him back so he wouldn't kill the little striker, but also because it would annoy him even more if Micro-Ice had actually managed to get in to his hotel room. Chances were, however, that the diminutive clown would get lost on the way to the hotel, so there would be no harm done.

* * *

'Two of Rapunzel's tears fell on to the prince's eyes. He rejoiced, telling the whole world that he could see again!'

Stevens jumped up and fist-pumped the air before picking Mei up bridal style.

'_Rapunzel, we will be married right away! Let us go to my kingdom where we shall rule as king and queen for the remainder of our lives!'_

They happily exited the stage, compared to the previous performance; this was a masterpiece, according to their narrator.

'Ladies and gentlemen, the cast of Rapunzel!'

The cast made their way to the stage and took their final bow, Tia was the first to exit the stage, keen on ending this nightmare as soon as possible, and maybe have a little orange snack to reward herself for not snapping the writer's neck.

* * *

The white rabbit scurried in to the dressing room, ripping off her bunny ears and breathing a sigh of relief. She quickly scanned the room and noted some absences.

'Where's Rocket?' she asked the group as she pulled a carrot from her bag.

They all stared at her in horror, even Warren stopped speaking for a few moments to look at the confused teenager; they had hoped that Rocket would be back for the end of Rapunzel, but he was nowhere to be found. They were going to have to make up a pretty good excuse.

'_Cinderella will begin in half an hour; all performers are asked to return to their assigned dressing rooms,' _the intercom sounded

'Well, where is he?'


	7. Chapter 7

'Well, where is he?' Tia asked, there was a growing sense of concern within her.

'He… he err-' D'Jok started

'He ran-'

'To the bathroom!' Thran quickly cut over Sinedd, sending him an angry look as he said it.

'For all this time?' Tia questioned, chewing on her carrot.

'Woo-Wam-Boo offered him some Wambisian finger food,' Thran continued, shuddering at the memory of his last experience of eating that food.

'I told that boy to stay away from that stuff,' Tia said as she rolled her eyes, 'it just doesn't agree with him.'

D'Jok gave Thran a discrete thumbs up for his quick thinking. The only problem was that he couldn't stay in the bathroom forever, they needed a distraction. Suddenly, D'Jok had an idea; there was one person he knew who would love more time in the spotlight.

* * *

Micro-Ice stood outside Sinedd's hotel room clutching the key. The little striker was rather surprised that he had managed to find the hotel without having to ask for directions. He made a mental note to rub it in D'Jok's face later.

'I'm coming Rocket!'

He unlocked the door and kicked it open to make himself feel heroic. His jaw hit the floor when he laid eyes on the sight in front of him.

* * *

'Okay, we have a distraction,' D'Jok said to the small huddle in the corner of the room, 'now; our goal is to keep Tia away from the stage until Rocket gets back.'

'D'Jok, you don't suppose he's gone back to Netherball?' Ahito questioned.

'Don't worry Ahito; the sphere's been destroyed since the last time me and Mark were there.'

'You can go nowhere without making a mess, can you?' Yuki sighed.

'That was nothing; you should have seen our after-party the night of the first final.'

'What happened?'

'We all ended up on separate roofs, it was pretty-'

'D'Jok… Rocket?' Thran reminded him while making circle motions with his hands, keen to get a move on.

'Oh, right,' the redhead nodded, 'well, I managed to call in a favour to keep the audience occupied until he comes back.'

'Who?'

'You'll see, Thran.'

* * *

The striker made his way on to the stage, confidence radiating from every cell of his body. As he took his place behind the microphone, he looked into the sea of confused looks from the League members.

'Hello, my name is Luur, and I will be reciting a piece of original poetry.'

The room went dark as the spotlight fell on the star player; he cleared his throat with a deep cough and began to speak, emphasising every word.

'A champion, his jersey number nine,

Since the final, a dear friend of mine,

His life I saved, the final he stole,

All because he fell through a very large hole.

His girlfriend, an actress, a brunette, a defender,

Though her name I cannot remember.'

His eyes narrowed when it came to the next verse.

'My foe, a golden-eyed pretty boy,

Able to play his temper like a toy,

King of the Sphere, beast on the field,

The hippie blocked my Heat with a blue flux shield,

We'll meet again, I promise you that,

Also, your hair is ridiculous, please invest in a hat.'

* * *

'Nice distraction, D'Jok,' Mark remarked sarcastically.

'How was I supposed to know he was so gifted with words?' the striker tried to defend himself.

'How long does that poem go on?' Thran asked.

'Well, he talks about every player he knows the name of, so quite a while,' D'Jok answered sheepishly.

The room went quiet when D'Jok's phone started to ring; Micro-Ice's number appeared on the screen.

* * *

'Come on, pick up, pick up!' Micro-Ice desperately babbled as he paced back and forth.

'_Hey Micro-Ice, what police station do we have to pick you up from?'_

'For your information, I'm in Sinedd's hotel room,' he pouted.

'_You actually made it without getting lost? Bravo!'_

'Don't patronise me!'

'_Whatever, just hurry up and get back here, I told you Rocket wasn't there.'_

'Well, that's the thing, he is.'

Micro-Ice smugly listened as a hushed conversation took place on the other end, obviously the others were surprised that the little striker's theory was right.

'_So, bring him back here already!'_

'Well, you see, that part may be a bit of a problem.'

'_Why?'_

'He's managed to get one of his dreadlocks stuck in the ceiling fan.'

'… _You're screwing with me.'_

'I wish I was.'

'_So cut it off.'_

'No!' Rocket shouted, he didn't want even one of his dreadlocks severed, 'we'll think of something, just don't tell Uncle Aarch!'

'_Okay then. Oh, and Rocket, when you get back here, pretend you've been in the bathroom all morning because you ate some Wambisian food.'_

'What? I would never go near that stuff!'

'_Just go with it, okay?'_

The midfielder rolled his eyes; this wasn't his day, 'fine.'

'_Great, see you soon!'_

Micro-Ice hung up and winced at his teammate, he was ready to reach for the scissors when he spotted a small screwdriver in the corner of his eye.

* * *

'Where is he? It's been an hour?' Aarch asked D'Jok for, what felt like, the millionth time since Micro-Ice's phone call.

'I don't know Coach,' the striker sighed as Luur began his verse on one of his nameless teammates.

'You can't even keep track of your own players, can you Aarch?' Artegor asked smugly at the sight of the distressed coach.

'You're forgetting that it's thanks to Sinedd that we're in this mess in the first place.

Sinedd looked up from inspecting his nails, overwhelmed by boredom when he heard the mention of his name.

'Huh?'

'Trying to pass the blame on to someone else? Now, now, Aarch, is that fair?'

'Your player kidnapped my nephew, I don't have to be fair!'

'Ah, back to your old ways of favouritism, I see.'

'Oh, you want to lecture me about favouritism? Name one player of yours that isn't Sinedd, Nihlis or Fulmugus.'

'Irrelevant, the rest don't have names.'

'I could name them all.'

'Don't you-'

'Coach!'

The two men looked at the door as Rocket ran in to the room with Micro-Ice running behind him carrying a ceiling fan, still attached to Rocket's hair. Aarch looked both players up and down before looking at Rocket.

'Want to explain?'

'Not really.'

'Did you steal my ceiling fan?' Sinedd asked, angrily marching towards the two arrivals.

'You stole Rocket!' D'Jok retaliated, standing between Sinedd and Rocket.

'You stole our cup!'

'You stole my tickets!' Micro-Ice butt in, throwing the fan to the floor, causing Rocket to fall with it.

'You stole my mood disk!' Thran bellowed at his little cousin.

'You stole my position!' Mark screamed at the midfielder trying to raise himself off the floor.

'It was mine first!'

'You stole my striker!' Aarch joined in.

'You stole my heart!' Artegor shrieked, causing the room to stop and look at him, 'I mean… you betrayed me!'

The inhabitants of the room went back to bickering, and didn't even notice when Mei and Tia returned from removing their make-up and costumes.

'What's going on, Mei?'

'I'm not exactly sure,' the model replied, then she caught a sight that she didn't like one bit.

'Micro-Ice, did you take off your corset?' she angrily questioned while yanking off his shirt.

'No, I just loosened it!' he yelped as he tried to paw her hands away, not wanting to re-visit that painful experience.

Sure enough, there was the corset, pretty much completely undone. Mei grabbed the restraints and yanked them as hard as she could, making the little striker beg for mercy.

Tia didn't even notice Rocket struggling to stand with the rather large ceiling fan as she walked out of the room and into the audience to watch the remainder of Luur's performance.


	8. Chapter 8

**First of all, I am soo sorry about the later-than-usual update, but lack of inspiration and time can be a real killer. Anyway, enjoy the chappie :3**

* * *

Artegor moodily dabbed his swollen lip with a wet cloth, glaring at Aarch.

'This is all _your_ fault,' he spat at the white-haired coach.

'Please, explain to me how this is all my fault, Artegor. I didn't throw the first punch,' he sighed; he had gotten used to having to defend himself when it came to Artegor's rants.

'It was your player who threw the first punch.'

'Only because Sinedd pulled his hair; you know how Mark gets about that thing on his head. He's almost as bad as-'

'Don't you dare, Aarch!'

'… You.'

'I can't believe you're comparing me to Mark, of all of your pathetic players!'

'Well, who would you like me to compare you to?'

'If you were going to compare me and my hair to any of your Snowkids, I'd prefer to be compared to that nephew of yours; he has nice hair,' he babbled on, stroking his own black locks.

Aarch looked over to his nephew, who was being held down by D'Jok and Thran while Norata tried to untangle his dreadlock that had been caught in the ceiling fan. His golden eyes were narrowed as he watched Tia talk to Stevens, who just nodded along to whatever she was saying; he had gotten a bit possessive since the Netherball incident.

'You'd look ridiculous in those dreadlocks, Artegor.'

'Oh, and you'd look any better?'

'I'm his uncle, of course I would.'

'Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?'

* * *

Luur strolled off the stage clutching the roses that had been thrown on to the stage by his adoring fans.

'Let's see you top that, pretty boy,' he smirked at Rocket, who was waiting behind the curtain with his group, snarling at the lizard.

'_And now, before we are graced with any more aspiring poets, allow me to introduce to you, the cast of Cinderella!'_

The Shadow playing Cinderella took to the stage, sinking to the floor and pretending to scrub.

'What happened to your hair, Rocket?' Yuki whispered to him, noticing that one of his dreadlocks seemed a bit frayed.

'Your little boyfriend ended up stealing Sinedd's ceiling fan.'

'How does that answer my question?'

'It was attached to my hair,' he mumbled, taking the damaged piece of hair in his hand; this was going to need quite a bit of Grumble Hair Conditioner.

'That's why you had it?'

'That would be the reason.'

'That's… interesting.'

_'Oh, I wish I could go to the ball!'_

Rocket looked on to the stage to see _Cinderella_ sobbing.

'Well Yuki, that's your cue.'

* * *

'Artegor, I feel ridiculous!'

'That's because you don't suit this hairstyle.'

'This whole thing is ridiculous. Let's just go back to the theatre.'

Artegor handed the cashier enough to cover the expense of their purchases and they left the store.

'Oh, we will, Aarch. As soon as we put these on,' he said, handing Aarch a _Rocket wig_.

'I don't understand why they sell these things anyway,' Aarch mumbled, taking the wig and studying the questionable costume store behind them closely.

'You're just annoyed because they haven't sold a jersey with your number in years.'

'You seem to be taking it rather well though.'

'In case you've forgotten, Sinedd is wearing my old jersey number; and it's a best seller.'

Aarch stopped dead in his tracks, wondering if he should recruit a new Snowkid with his old jersey number; that would teach Artegor a lesson.

'What do you think?' Artegor asked as he spun around, his dreadlocks dancing in the air.

'You look utterly ridiculous,' he moaned, putting his own wig on, watching Artegor scrutinise his new look, 'well?'

'It looks stupid on your tiny head with those huge shoulders.'

'Why you-'

_'Oh my gosh! It's Tangela from Pokémon!'_

The two men looked around in horror to see several people running towards them.

'See Aarch? I told you.'

'I'm sure they were talking about you.'

As the youths began to edge closer, the two coaches decided it was in their best interest to head back to the theatre.

* * *

Thran pouted; they were on next and Ahito showed no signs of waking up. Not that it mattered to the women of his group; one little yawn and they were all over him like a swarm of flies. They were identical twins, how was he so easily overlooked while Ahito could, quite literally, make fan girls scream in his sleep?

'What's up with you?' Micro-Ice wheezed from the bench, not daring to stand up in case the dreaded corset killed him from the inside.

'I have no fans,' the defender frowned.

'Hey, at least your fan-base isn't made up of 9-year-old girls.'

'At least you _have_ a fan base! Anytime I get close to getting a _Thran girl_, Ahito falls asleep and steals her right out from under me!'

'I really hope that was metaphorical.'

'Micro-Ice!'

'Okay, look. All you have to do is make sure Sleepy Gonzalez over there stays awake,' he said as he pointed to the sleeping goalie in the corner.

'Sleepy Gonzalez?'

'Yeah, all you guys have nicknames.'

'What's mine?'

'I forgot to give you one,' he said sheepishly, realising that he had overlooked the footballer who was upset about having no fans.

'Great, I'm being overlooked by the munchkin over here!'

'Hey!'

'Sorry,' he muttered unconvincingly, 'did you want to say something?'

'No.'

Thran sighed as the little striker crossed his arms, stuck out his bottom lip and looked away. He was used to Micro-Ice huffing and knew how to handle this. He walked towards the door and came back minutes later holding a chocolate muffin. Thran watched Micro-Ice snatch the small cake from him and take a bite.

'Well?' Thran asked, knowing that Micro-Ice had completely forgiven him.

'All you have to do is give Ahito coffee so he doesn't fall asleep and steal your thunder.'

'But… Coffee's a drug,' he responded nervously, 'what if it makes him relapse?'

The raven haired boy flicked his taller friend in between the eyes, 'he won't relapse if he drinks one cup of coffee!'

'How do you know?' Thran asked as he rubbed the attacked area.

'Dude, it's coffee.'

'It's full of caffeine!'

'Oh great; over protective Thran's back. Come on, he's had it before-'

**'He's what?!'**

Micro-Ice could swear that there was fire burning in those dark eyes; they weren't supposed to tell Thran that they had given Ahito coffee right before the first final; it worked until half-time, and he didn't even get sick.

* * *

'What about you? Tell me your name,' Rocket said, drowning out the sounds of his mother weeping in the front row.

'My name is Cinderella, my fair prince.'

'Please try on this shoe,' he responded, holding up a transparent shoe, 'I must know if you are my fair princess!'

'Of course, my Prince.'

Rocket couldn't help but think how stupid this story was; he would never ask Tia to wear a glass slipper and risk cutting the feet off her. Not that this was a real glass slipper; this was more of a plastic slipper, something you would find in the Disney Store. He found it hard to keep insulting the cartoon in his mind as his mother's weeping grew louder. Rocket could feel his eye twitching, but didn't let his mother's blubbering faze him.

'_So… Grown up!'_

'_It's okay Keira…'_

'_He's so handsome, Norata! And that's our son!'_

'_Yes, I-'_

'_Oh, Rocket. My baby's all grown up!'_

* * *

'I'm telling you; I wear these dreadlocks better than you!'

'No you don't!'

'I do, Aarch; it's just another victory over you.'

Aarch growled and pushed open the door, forgetting that he and his friend were clad in matching_ Rocket wigs._

'This isn't a victory, Artegor.'

'Then what is it?' Mei asked.

The two older men spun around to meet the confused gazes of everyone in the room.

'So…' Micro-Ice began, a slight smirk coming to his face.

'It's… different,' Ahito winced.

'What is _wrong _with you?' Sinedd snarled, taking out his phone and quickly snapping a photo of the dumbfounded coaches.

'I would have thought you'd like this, Sinedd,' D'Jok chuckled, 'after all, two Rockets are better than one, right?'

The Shadow's star striker glared at him before slipping the device back in his pocket.

'Uncle Aarch, what's going on?'

'Oh great,' Aarch moaned, he would never hear the end of this, he turned to the door to see a very confused looking Rocket, eating an ice-cream, while an equally confused looking Tia was eating a carrot, 'I can explain everything!'

'Are you doing a Tarzan show?' Rocket asked, tilting his head to one side.

'No, I think they're cosplaying,' Mei said out loud.

'I was thinking that they were just going incognito; Artegor's doing a better job if you ask me, what, with those shades,' Micro-Ice piped up.

Aarch and Artegor listened to the various theories as to why they would wear dreadlocked wigs; they didn't know why they were either to be honest. At that moment, Keira walked in dabbing her eyes, but once she caught sight of the two men in front of her, she abruptly left the room, blubbering something about Rocket being so handsome that he influenced another generation. They never recalled Rocket getting this grief from his teammates; damn kids.


	9. Chapter 9

'For the last time, I'm sorry!' Aarch defended while shooting Artegor a dangerous look out of the corner of his eye.

'Aarch, do you know how hard it was to convince Rocket that you didn't spill plant growth chemicals on your head?' Norata questioned with a furious glint in his eye.

'Well, he's definitely your nephew,' Artegor scoffed, twirling one of the dreadlocks.

'Will you please take that off?' Aarch asked through gritted teeth, 'with the wig, fur coat and sunglasses, you look like Tiny Wayne!'

'It's Lil' Wayne you buffoon.'

Artegor looked at the confused yet horrified looks on the brothers' faces.

'Artegor?' Norata squeaked; the black-haired coach was known to hate the delirious drabble that was rap music and stick to the classics.

'Sinedd blasts that infernal racket morning, noon and night,' he murmured, 'that boy's lucky I don't jam every one of his CDs down his throat.'

'You're just annoyed because you can't rap,' Aarch sighed.

'I could rap better than you, Aarch.'

'Oh please, I'd rap you into the next cup.'

'To see the Shadows reign supreme? Oh you're too kind.'

'Alright then, let's see who can rap like… like… Skittle!'

'Eminem, you imbecile!'

'Enough!' Norata screamed above the two bickering coaches, making them stop and look at him, confusion written all over their faces, 'I don't want to explain to Rocket why his uncle and emotionally disturbed friend are having a rap-off after buying dreadlocked wigs, especially not after his experience with the ceiling fan. If I let you go through with this, it'll scar him for life!'

'You've never worried about scarring Rocket for life before,' Aarch noted.

'Emotionally disturbed?' Artegor asked, disbelieving that his mental health had been questioned for the umpteenth time today.

'You are not rapping. Do I make myself clear?' Norata asked, though it felt more like an order to the two men.

'Crystal,' Aarch mumbled, not amused that he was letting his little brother tell him what to do.

'I am **not **emotionally disturbed!'

* * *

Thran sighed; Dorothy had just been sucked into Oz, and he was due on pretty soon, with Ahito following soon after. Yet_ Sleepy Gonzalez_ was yet to wake up. Thran watched as his fellow defender went to wake Ahito up subtly, but only managed to get a few irritated moans from the sleepy goalkeeper. He failed to notice Mei hand him a cup of coffee, letting him chug it like it was the last beverage he would ever have.

'Hey Thran Man!'

'Thran Man?'

'It's your new nickname,' Micro-Ice smiled, obviously proud of himself, 'you ready to meet your doom?'

'If by doom you mean making a fool of myself in front of the League wearing an elf costume and speaking like a chipmunk for the next hour and a half, then yes, I'm ready.'

'Well, look at you getting in to it,' Micro-Ice goofily smiled while poking the older twin's arm.

'You'll never change, will you?'

'Come on, you love it!' the little striker grinned.

Thran knew that grin; that was the grin that told him that Micro-Ice had done something that he wouldn't appreciate. He narrowed his dark eyes at the tiny teenager beside him.

'What have you done?'

'_Oh my goodness, what a magical place! I wonder what kind of people live in these tiny houses!'_

'That's your cue!' Micro-Ice said excitedly, pushing Thran through the curtain, 'go get some Thran girls!'

* * *

'I'm telling you, Artegor, it's worrying how you know all of these rappers.'

'You're just jealous because you can't keep up with the younger generation.'

'What are you talking about? The kids love me!'

'Prove it,' Artegor smirked, 'come up with a rap by the end of the day and see if the kids still adore you.'

'You were waiting for me to fall into that trap, weren't you?'

'You're just too easy to fool, Aarch,' he laughed before strolling into the dressing room.

Aarch clenched his teeth and let steam seep out of his ears before following his friend through the door, raising a confused eyebrow at the sight in front of him. Rocket was tied to a chair in the centre of the room with Mark and Yuki fastening the restraints, ignoring the furious glares they were receiving from the dreadlocked boy. The white haired coach began to massage his temples, letting out a deep sigh.

'Explain.'

The substitutes looked up to see their coach in front of them, with a look that clearly said _I'm not amused_.

'This is just so he doesn't run away again,' Mark said simply.

'I thought Sinedd stole him,' D'Jok said, scowling at the dress he was being made to wear.

'Well, he runs away at least once every cup, you can never be too safe with him,' Mei sighed, not looking up from her magazine.

'So… You tied him to a chair?'

Everyone in the room nodded at the confused coach nonchalantly.

'And you're okay with this?' he asked his nephew.

Before he could get an answer, the screen in the dressing room showed Ahito leap out on to the stage full of life, grabbing everyone's attention.

* * *

'Oh, my dear sister, what have they done to you? You're as flat as a pancake! Oh no! Oh no! Oh Holy Oz, who did this?!'

Thran watched as his brother blurted out his lines frantically, his eye twitching as he turned to look at the shocked group behind him. Thran's eyebrows furrowed when realisation dawned on him; Micro-Ice had given him coffee.

'You did this!' Ahito continued, pointing to Lun-Zaera, 'you killed my sister and stole her shoes? Give them back to me now!' he shrieked, holding out his hands and jittering as the caffeine took control.

* * *

'He's amazing!' Mei squealed, throwing her magazine to the ground and turning her full attention to the screen.

'Oh, but on the field he sleeps in the goalpost,' D'Jok mumbled under his breath.

'You're just grumpy because you've got to wear a dress,' Mark laughed, slipping his monkey ears on.

'Look at it!' he yelled, holding the garment up in fury, 'it's a freaking dress!'

Aarch sat at one of the dressing tables, pen and paper in hand, trying to come up with lyrics to his rap while ignoring the ball of anger that was D'Jok. Tia noticed the frustration on her coach's face. The aging coach looked around when he heard her approach.

'What'cha doing, Coach?'

'I'm trying to write a rap,' he replied, chewing the pen.

'A rap?'

'Don't question it, Tia.'

'Err, okay? What have you got so far?'

'Not much, my strategy of analysing Snoopy hasn't gone so well.'

'Sir, do you mean Snoop Dogg?'

'That's the one. Can you look over this, Tia?' he asked, handing her the sheet of paper.

'Sure thing, Sir,' she smiled, looking at the lyrics and wincing.

_Yo Dawg, dis is mah crew,_

_Snowkids 4, Shadows 2,_

_We gon' get down tonight,_

_On the roof, doin' Coke and Sprite._

'Sir, you'd never let us do drugs.'

'Where does it mention drugs?' he questioned, leaning back to look at his masterpiece.

'Well, right here,' she said, pointing to the word in question.

'Oh, come on, Tia, that's a beverage, I've seen you drinking it plenty of times,' he chuckled.

'But why did you put it in your rap?' Tia asked, knowing better than to argue with the man.

'Well,' he started, pointing to a separate piece of paper covered in notes, 'I carefully analysed the lyrics of the most popular artists and, while I couldn't make out most of their vocabulary, it seems they're very fond of Coca Cola.'

Tia gaped at the man as she pushed the sheet of paper at him, 'that's err, great, Sir.'

Aarch nodded and went back to analysing yet another song from the radio. He listened carefully to the playing song and wrote down the words he could make out.

'Okay, so, that's _you stupid_… And what's that other word? Foe? Bow? Toe?' he pressed the earphone further in to his ear and recoiled when he heard the correct word, shutting the device off, 'well now, that's just rude!'

* * *

**'I'm melting, I'm melting!'**

Lun-Zaera stood on stage grasping an empty bucket, standing over Ahito, who hadn't fallen asleep during the whole production. Thran rolled his eyes behind the curtain, wondering how he had missed Micro-Ice's obvious attempts of trying to distract him while Mei slipped Ahito the caffeinated drink of doom.

_Well, at least he's giving me a chance to get fans._

As if the universe was playing a cruel trick on him, the girls of his group squealed at his little brother's acting, causing steam to pour out of Thran's ears.

_Really? I mean, really?_

* * *

Mei stood up and clapped slowly at Ahito's performance, tears coming to her eyes, 'I have no words; he's just that good!'

'See D'Jok? You're being replaced,' Sinedd smirked.

'At least I have a girlfriend,' D'Jok growled.

'Eh, you got lucky.'

'Sinedd, I mean it, I will take those tights of yours and stick them where the sun don't shine if you don't shut your mouth.'

'I'd love to see you try, loser.'

'Weirdo.'

'Flame head.'

'Angst-y.'

'Air-head.'

'Friendless.'

'Hey guys, what'cha up to?' Micro-Ice grinned.

'Shove off, Ceiling Fan Thief; can't you see we're busy?' Sinedd warned.

'Get over it, it was a fan!' the tiny striker defended.

'Thanks to you I'm going to overheat and die in my sleep, you little runt!'

'Excuse me, boys.'

The three strikers looked around to see Artegor standing in front of him, clad in his Rocket wig, sunglasses and Cruella De Vil pelt.

'Oh holy flux,' Sinedd laughed, looking the man up and down, 'you are one disturbed human being.'

'I am perfectly sane, Sinedd,' he scowled through gritted teeth, pronouncing every syllable harshly.

'Sure you are,' Sinedd replied sarcastically, snapping a picture on his phone and walking away.

The assistant coach rolled his eyes and turned back to the two Snowkids, 'do you know where Aarch is?'

The strikers nodded, refusing to take their gaze off the unusually dressed man in front of them before pointing to their coach. Artegor looked in the direction they were pointing, and, sure enough, there was Aarch sitting in the corner, racking his brain as he tried to figure out what the hip hop artists were saying. Artegor sniggered before turning on his heel and retreating to one of the neighbouring dressing rooms, he was eager to see what the frustrated man came up with.


End file.
